John Parnell Thomas (January 16, 1895 – November 19, 1970) was an American

stockbroker A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and ...

and politician. He was elected to seven terms as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

as a Republican, serving from 1937 to 1950. Thomas later served nine months in federal prison for corruption. Ironically, he would serve his sentence at the same prison as two of the

Hollywood Ten The Hollywood blacklist was the mid-20th century banning of suspected Communists from working in the United States entertainment industry. The blacklisting, blacklist began at the onset of the Cold War and Red Scare#Second Red Scare (1947–1957 ...

, whose convictions were obtained after Thomas's inquiries into the film industry.

Early life and career

Born as John Parnell Feeney Jr. in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

, he changed his name in 1919 to John Parnell Thomas. Raised Catholic, he later became an

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

. Raised in

Allendale, New Jersey Allendale is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 6,848, the highest recorded in any United States Census, ...

, he graduated in 1914 from Ridgewood High School, after which he studied at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, where he was elected secretary of the school's sophomore class. When the United States entered

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1917, he served overseas with the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. Following his discharge from the military in 1919, Thomas worked in the investment securities and insurance business in New York City for the next 18 years. He entered

, municipal politics in 1925 and was elected councilman and then mayor of the borough from 1926 to 1930. He was elected to a two-year term to the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

in 1935. In 1936, Thomas was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

as a Republican Party Representative from New Jersey's 7th congressional district, filling the vacancy left by the death of Randolph Perkins. He would be re-elected six times.

Anti-communism

As a U.S. Congressman, Thomas was a staunch conservative opponent of President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

and his

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

, claiming the President's legislative agenda had "sabotaged the capitalist system." Thomas opposed government support for the

Federal Theatre Project The Federal Theatre Project (FTP; 1935–1939) was a theatre program established during the Great Depression as part of the New Deal to fund live artistic performances and entertainment programs in the United States. It was one of five Federal ...

declaring that "practically every play presented under the auspices of the Project is sheer

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

for

Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

or the New Deal." In 1949, Thomas called the U.S. Secretary of Defense,

James Forrestal James Vincent Forrestal (February 15, 1892 – May 22, 1949) was the last Cabinet (government), cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense. Forrestal came from a very strict middle-cla ...

, "the most dangerous man in America" and claimed that if Forrestal were not removed from office he would "cause another world war."

Demobilization

In the post-war period, Thomas called for a rapid demobilization of the American military. In 1946, he invited

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

to his office to discuss the issue. When he arrived, the general was faced with a table surrounded by soldier's wives, many holding babies. News photographers took photos of the furious Eisenhower.

HUAC

After the Republican Party gained control of the

80th Congress The 80th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1947 ...

in the November 1946 elections, Thomas was appointed chairman of the

House Committee on Un-American Activities The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty an ...

(HUAC)–during that period, also called the "Thomas Committee." In May 1947, Thomas traveled to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

to meet with

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre- ...

executives with a view to exposing what he believed was Communist infiltration of motion pictures content by members of the

Screen Writers Guild The Screen Writers Guild was an organization of Hollywood screenplay authors, formed as a union in 1933. A rival organisation, Screen Playwrights, Inc., was established by the AMPP, film studios and producers, but after an appeal to the National ...

. Returning to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, he shifted the focus of the committee to what he called the "subversives" working in the film business. Under Thomas, in October 1947, HUAC summoned suspected Communists to appear for questioning. These summonses led to the conviction and imprisonment for contempt of Congress of the "

" who had refused to answer the Committee's questions, citing the First Amendment.

Corruption charges and imprisonment

Prominent American columnists Jack Anderson and Drew Pearson were critical of Thomas and his committee's methods. Rumors about corrupt practices on the part of Thomas were confirmed when his secretary, Helen Campbell, sent documents to Pearson, which he used to expose Thomas' corruption in an August 4, 1948, newspaper article. The fraud had begun on New Year's Day of 1940, when Thomas placed Campbell's niece, Myra Midkiff, and Campbell's maid, Arnette Minor, on his payroll as clerks. Midkiff earned roughly $1,200 a year and was to kick back her entire salary to the Congressman. Through this practice, he would also evade a tax bracket increase. The arrangement lasted for four years. As a result, Thomas and Campbell were summoned to answer to charges of salary fraud before a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

. Thomas refused to answer questions, citing his Fifth Amendment rights, the most common stance for which he had criticized accused Communists. Indicted, Thomas was tried and convicted of

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

, fined and given an 18-month prison sentence. He resigned from Congress on January 2, 1950. Thomas was paroled after serving nine months. In an ironic twist, he was imprisoned in Danbury Prison where Lester Cole and Ring Lardner Jr., both members of the "Hollywood Ten" were serving time due to Thomas's inquiries into the film industry.

Post-prison

After his release from prison, Thomas was an editor and publisher of three weekly newspapers in

Bergen County, New Jersey Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

pardoned Thomas on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

of 1952. In 1954, Thomas tried to re-enter politics, but was defeated for the Republican Party nomination for Congress.

Death

Thomas died in 1970 in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

, aged 75, of undisclosed causes. He was

cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

, and his ashes were interred in the Elmgrove Cemetery in

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Depictions

In the 2015 film ''Trumbo'', Thomas is portrayed by James Dumont.

References

External links

J. Parnell Thomas' truncated bio
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 Politics of the United States, American political figures and List of United States political families, political families, along with other informa ...

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, J. Parnell 1895 births 1970 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century mayors of places in New Jersey American businesspeople convicted of crimes American politicians convicted of fraud American stockbrokers Converts to Anglicanism from Roman Catholicism Mayors of places in New Jersey Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Lawyers from Bergen County, New Jersey Lawyers from Jersey City, New Jersey New Jersey politicians convicted of corruption People from Allendale, New Jersey Politicians from Bergen County, New Jersey Politicians from Jersey City, New Jersey Politicians from St. Petersburg, Florida Politicians convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey Ridgewood High School (New Jersey) alumni United States Army personnel of World War I People pardoned by Harry S. Truman 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives Members of the House Un-American Activities Committee